According to Dr M L Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the country’s popcorn maize market has expanded from 50,000 tonnes in 2014-15 to 1.30 lakh tonnes in 2025-26, and is expected to rise to nearly 1.80 lakh tonnes by 2030, helping cut imports and save an estimated Rs 810 crore in foreign exchange. That is a major shift from the situation a decade ago, when imported popcorn dominated the Indian market and local production was negligible.
The growth, he said, reflects the steady development of high-expansion popcorn maize varieties suited to Indian conditions and the emergence of an organised production ecosystem linking research institutions, private companies and farmers. Where India once imported virtually all the popcorn it consumed, domestic production now supplies nearly 70% of national demand, sharply reducing reliance on overseas shipments.
At the centre of this shift is a collaboration between ICAR’s Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), based in Ludhiana, and Gourmet Popcornica Private Limited, one of India’s largest popcorn company. The partnership has focused on strengthening the popcorn maize value chain, improving seed quality, expanding production acreage and creating a more reliable domestic supply system for processors and consumers.
The institutional push accelerated after February 2021, when formal agreements were signed around LPCH 3, an indigenous popcorn hybrid bred by ICAR-IIMR. known for its high yield, good popping quality, resistance to major diseases and insect pests and medium popping expansion. Gourmet Popcornica later developed newer hybrids by combining Indian and US popcorn traits, aiming to improve yield, resilience and popping expansion. This blending of local adaptation with premium popping characteristics is significant because it addresses one of the industry’s long-standing challenges: producing popcorn that meets both agronomic requirements in the field and quality expectations in the consumer market.
Gourmet Popcornica is currently working with more than 17,500 farmers across nine states and cultivating popcorn maize on over 36,000 acres. Through contract farming, agronomy support, capacity-building programmes, sustainable packaging, responsible sourcing, and branded marketing, the company has helped create a structured market that gives growers clearer demand visibility and a more dependable route to income.
What started as an initiative to produce world-class popcorn domestically has now evolved into a national opportunity. With strong research backing and robust field-level execution, India is well positioned not only to meet its domestic demand but also to emerge as a reliable exporter of premium-quality popcorn maize by 2030. For policymakers and researchers, the popcorn maize story is becoming an example of how crop diversification, seed innovation and industry partnerships can convert a niche imported product into a domestic value chain. In that sense, popcorn maize is no longer just a snack category; it is emerging as a test case for how research-led agriculture can generate rural income, lower import dependence and build specialised food supply chains within India.
Together, ICAR–IIMR and Gourmet Popcornica are nurturing a vibrant, Aatmanirbhar popcorn maize ecosystem, supporting farmer prosperity, institutional excellence, and high-quality, sustainable food choices for Indian consumers. India’s import dependence has already dropped from about 100% a decade ago to roughly 30% today. If current trends continue, the country could meet its full domestic requirement of around 1.80 lakh tonnes by 2030. That would not only complete India’s shift from heavy import dependence to self-reliance, but also open the door to exports of premium-quality popcorn maize in the years ahead.
For now, the sector remains in a transition phase rather than at its final destination. But the direction is clear: what began as a small, import-dependent market has evolved into a fast-growing agricultural and food-processing segment backed by public research, private investment and rising farmer participation. If the current production trajectory holds, popcorn could become one of the more unexpected success stories in India’s drive for agricultural self-sufficiency.